Poll: Israel, Palestinians get low marks

COLLEGE PARK, Md., July 1 (UPI) -- Israel, Palestine, the United States and Arab leaders are seen as weak in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a global poll released Tuesday indicated.

Publics in most countries said they believe United Nations should play a larger role in the Middle Eastern conflict, the WorldPublicOpinion.org poll said in a news release. Majorities of people polled said the U.N. should offer to provide peacekeeping forces not only to enforce an eventual agreement but also to guarantee the security in the region.

Israel received the lowest approval rating, with an average of 54 percent of the respondents saying Israel was not playing a positive role. An average of 47 percent viewed the Palestinians' role negatively. On average, 59 percent said the United States is not doing its part very well. An average of 48 percent said say other Arab counties are not playing a constructive role.

"All of the key actors are seen as failing to do their part to break the impasse and most want the U.N. Security Council to step in and offer peacekeeping forces and even security guarantees to help resolve the conflict," said Steven Kull, director of WorldPublicOpinion.org, based in College Park, Md.

The poll of 18,792 respondents in 18 countries was conducted by WorldPublicOpinion.org, a research project of international research centers and managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland.